J&K Lt Governor Dismisses Five Govt Employees Over Alleged Terror Links

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday terminated the services of five government employees, including a school teacher and a laboratory technician, by invoking Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution. The decision allows dismissal without a regular departmental inquiry when the government determines that an employee's continuation in service poses a threat to national security. The dismissed individuals are Mohammad Ishfaq, Tariq Ahmad Rah, Bashir Ahmad Mir, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, and Mohammad Yousuf Kumar.

Security agencies provided credible and sustained intelligence inputs establishing the employees' alleged connections to militant organisations, primarily Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Mohammad Ishfaq, a government school teacher, was accused of serving as an Over Ground Worker for LeT, maintaining contact with Pakistan-based commander Mohammad Amin alias Abu Khubaib, and planning the killing of a police officer in Doda in 2022. He was arrested before the plot could be executed, with arms recovered from him, and allegedly used his teaching position to radicalise youth.

Tariq Ahmad Rah, a laboratory technician, reportedly came under Hizbul Mujahideen influence early in life due to family ties, including his uncle who served as a divisional commander of the group. He allegedly facilitated his uncle's escape to Pakistan in 2005, faced arrest under the UAPA, and later resumed terror-related activities after securing bail. Bashir Ahmad Mir, an assistant lineman in Bandipora, was accused of providing logistical support, shelter, and intelligence to LeT militants in the Gurez area, with his role exposed during a 2021 encounter at his residence.

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Farooq Ahmad Bhat, a Class IV employee in the Forest Department, allegedly worked as an Over Ground Worker for Hizbul Mujahideen and assisted a former MLA with purported militant links. He is also accused of aiding the escape of HM commander Amin Baba. Mohammad Yousuf Kumar, a driver in the Health Department, reportedly maintained contact with a Pakistan-based HM handler and was involved in procuring arms and transporting funds, with police recovering a pistol, grenade, ammunition, and Rs 5 lakh from a vehicle he was travelling in during July 2024.

Since 2021, Lieutenant Governor Sinha has dismissed more than 85 government employees on similar grounds of involvement in anti-national activities. The action continues despite objections from the elected government regarding the bypass of standard departmental inquiries. Article 311(2)(c) empowers the administration to take such swift measures when state security is deemed at risk.

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